Soothsayer
Soothsayer is a supporting character from Kung Fu Panda 2. Personality The Soothsayer often acts mysteriously. However, her credibility is often doubted given her humorous traits; including predicting things of seemingly little to no value, making her fortunes real by her own hands (for example, predicting pain in Shen's future, and then ripping off one of his feathers), and eating people's belongings (namely Shen's). It is usually unclear whether she is predicting things metaphorically or literally. While by Lord Shen's side, she tried her best to make him reconsider his actions and take another path, given that she knows that if he doesn't, it will end with his demise. Despite his clear dislike of this trait, Shen considered the Soothsayer the only living character he cared about, given that he had set her free in the oncoming pursuit of his plans rather than executing or imprisoning her. The Soothsayer's wisdom was not to be taken lightly, and also seemed to possess a fatalistic, yet positive, perspective of her fortune-telling, as she displayed unwavering faith that Shen would indeed fall at the hands of Po — a faith that was satisfied at the end of the film. The Soothsayer also has great regard for history and tradition, as shown when she angrily lambasted Shen for destroying the Tower of the Sacred Flame, which had been the Peacocks' ancestral home for centuries. Role in Film Twenty years prior to the film's events (as narrated in the film prologue), the Soothsayer was one day called upon the Peacocks, rulers of Gongmen City, to reveal their son's fortune in light of his disturbing ambition regarding a lethal potential in his family's celebrated invention of fireworks. Using her soothsaying magic, the Soothsayer foretold that "if he continued down this dark path, he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white." This prophecy led to a horrific chain of events when the young Lord Shen had overheard the Soothsayer's fortune-telling. To the horror of the Soothsayer and Shen's Parents, he assumed this warrior of black and white referred to a panda, and immediately, the young prince led his army of wolves to exterminate all the pandas in a nearby farming village. Such a heinous, unspeakable crime was punishable, according to Shen's father, by lifelong banishment from Gongmen. The Soothsayer was not present for Shen's banishment, but was still aware of it. The destruction of the panda village and near-extermination of the species weighed heavily on the old Soothsayer, who knew that it was her prophecy that led Shen to commit the act. For years since then, the Soothsayer had lived with the burden of her guilt, tempered by a finely-honed fatalistic sense of humor that comforted her as she awaited the events she foretold—events that she hoped would redeem both Shen and herself. She stayed with the Peacocks until the city's throne was turned over to the stewardship of the Kung Fu Council, to whom she continued to aid through her wisdom and soothsaying. When Shen finally returned to take control of Gongmen City, he greeted the Soothsayer and commented that her fortune-telling skills were not as good as she thought. After this tense exchange, Shen used his cannon to kill Master Thundering Rhino and sent his two students, Masters Storming Ox and Croc, to prison. He then kept the Soothsayer with him in the Tower of Sacred Flame as a prisoner. Some time later, Shen asked the Soothsayer to tell him what was in his future. She was initially uncooperative, plucking a feather from his wing, eating the hem of his robe, and stating the obvious when she told him about his pain, anger, and denial. But at last, she obliged and read Shen's future anyway. However, her old vision of him being defeated by a panda remained unchanged. Shen refused to believe any pandas still lived, since he had already destroyed a panda-populated village to avert the Soothsayer's prophecy. He was proven wrong, though, when Boss Wolf entered and told him that he had recently battled with a panda. The Soothsayer watched as Shen ordered the wolf to bring the panda to him so he could kill him and prove her wrong once and for all. She responded to Shen's challenge without fear, and another bite from his expensive silk robe. Eventually, Boss Wolf and his pack proved successful in capturing the panda and his comrades, the Furious Five. While they were being brought to him in the palace, the Soothsayer saw Shen practicing what he would say to the panda. She commented that he was afraid, which he denied even though it was quite obvious. When Po and the Five arrived at last, the Soothsayer went up to Po and mentioned how he had grown up bigger than she expected, finding him to be strong and healthy. Confused, Po told her to stand aside and called her "sir". He quickly apologized when Viper corrected him, but the Soothsayer seemed more amused than annoyed by his mistake. Shen, however, was very annoyed until Po destroyed a miniature cannon in the throne room instead of the real one. Laughing, he asked the Soothsayer if she really believed Po was the warrior destined to defeat him, and she replied that she knew he was. However, it soon became clear that Po did not remember anything about Shen or his role in the destruction of his old home and family. This surprised the Soothsayer, but she had no time to explain anything as the prisoners quickly broke free of their chains and destroyed the cannon in the throne room. She watched when Po lunged to attack Shen, but he froze suddenly, giving the peacock just enough time to escape from the tower through an open window. The shocked Soothsayer was then carried out of the tower by a gorilla guard and was brought to the Fireworks Factory where Shen had fled to. It was at the factory that Shen decided to kill Po and the Five by shooting the tower down with them inside. Although he brought the tower down, the Kung Fu Masters narrowly escaped. Shen later gloated to the Soothsayer that she was wrong about Po, since the panda had failed to defeat him. But she only criticized Shen for destroying his ancestral home and asked if conquering China would finally satisfy him. When arguing with him failed to change his mind, the Soothsayer tried to reason with Shen and begged him to stop so his parents could rest in peace. Shen insisted that his parents had hated and wronged him, but she said that they had loved him so much that they died of grief. His cold response to this news made it very clear to the Soothsayer that he was determined follow the path of destruction. Shen then ordered his guards to set her free. Deeply saddened, she told him goodbye and wished him happiness as she left. The Soothsayer left Gongmen City, but soon found an unconscious and badly-injured Po floating in the river. She took him to the remains of the Panda Village and set about nursing him back to health. When Po woke up, he tried to sneak away from her, but she caught him and made him drink a cup of bad-tasting medicinal tea. She then told Po that she had saved him so that he could fulfill his destiny. When he expressed confusion, she said she was surprised by how little he remembered from when "it" happened. Suddenly, painful memories began flaring inside Po's mind. When she saw him in distress, she suspected that he remembered more than he realized, and that his so-called "nightmares" were really repressed memories coming back to the surface. To help Po find the truth, the Soothsayer explained to him about the prophecy she had made years ago, when Shen's parents had come to her with fears about their ambitious son's future. She had foreseen that a panda would stand in Shen's way; however, she did not foresee that Shen would attack the Panda Village in order to prevent this. Po then remembered that his father had saved him from Shen's wolves, but it was too painful for him to see after his mother carried him off. The Soothsayer advised him to "stop fighting instead let it flow." He did this by performing the special "inner peace" technique he had recently learned from Master Shifu. Sensing that he had seen the truth of his past, the Soothsayer told him that it was his choices that determined his identity. This helped Po to let go of his pain, accept the present, and decide to defeat Shen for good. At the end of the film, after Po succeeded in defeating Shen and his army, the Soothsayer was last seen happily watching the fireworks with the rest of Gongmen's joyful citizens. Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Magic Users Category:Wise characters Category:Kung Fu Panda characters Category:Narrators Category:Sidekicks Category:Kung Fu Panda 2 Category:Animals Category:Sequel Characters Category:Heroines Category:Elders Category:Mammals Category:Sheep